Overview NC Trail Days is a four-day outdoor festival in Elkin and Jonesville, two Yadkin Valley towns in North Carolina, and it is held where three long-distance trails meet in downtown Elkin: the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail and the Yadkin River State Trail. It runs the first weekend of June, timed to National Trails Day, and the program is mostly things to do: themed guided hikes, self-guided routes, Yadkin River paddles, rock climbing outings, greenway trail races, environmental science talks and music at night. Explore Elkin, the Elkin Valley Trails Association and the Jonesville Tourism Development Authority put it on. On site Each day has its own shape. In 2026 Thursday opened with guided hikes, educational seminars and the Toast to Trails kickoff and dinner; Friday added a Yadkin River clean-up, live music, the Overland Rig Revival vehicle showcase and a parade for Mountains-to-Sea Trail thru-hikers; Saturday brought river excursions, outdoor gear vendors at the Vendor Village and a Downtown Music Trail along Main Street; Sunday closed with hikes, paddles and events at local vineyards. The themed hikes run from waterfalls and plein-air painting to moonshine still sites, casual dog walks and multi-day trips on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Stone Mountain State Park is 25 minutes west and Pilot Mountain State Park 30 minutes east. Audience People come to take part rather than watch: they register for a specific hike, paddle, climb or ride, and the levels run from a dog walk to a multi-day backpacking trip. The festival is built for locals and visitors alike, with Elkin pitched as a basecamp for the two state parks. Track record Hurricane Helene hit the region in 2024, and the festival director's letter for the 2026 edition invited sponsors and visitors back to Elkin and Jonesville with the storm's damage in mind. Brand presence Sponsorship follows the trail theme. The presenting level puts a logo on the festival home page, on banners at the main venues and on all festival promotion except billboards, with a Vendor Village booth on Saturday and mentions on radio and in print. Summit sponsors name a specific event - a Mountains-to-Sea Trail Segment 6 hike or paddle, Toast to Trails, the Friday night gathering, the Vendor Village or the Downtown Music Trail - and Trailblazer sponsors name a guided hike of their choosing, such as a naturalist hike called 'Some Feed Us, Some Heal Us, Some Kill Us.' The festival site listed G and B Energy and Hugh Chatham Health as presenting sponsors in 2026.